Madikeri Fort

Madikeri Fort also called Mercara Fort is a fort in Madikeri, in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka, first built by Mudduraja in the second half of the 17th century. Mudduraja also built the palace within the fort. It was rebuilt and restructured in granite by Tipu Sultan, and the site was then renamed Jaffarabad. Madikeri Fort is one of the many forts built or rebuilt by Tipu Sultan during his reign in the second half of the 18th century. In 1790, Dodda Vira Rajendra took control of the fort. The British made additions to the fort in 1834. The palace underwent renovations by Linga Rajendra II from 1812-1814. Notable structures in the fort include two stone statues of elephants at the northeast entry and a church in the southeast corner.

Map of Madikeri with fort in 1854. See alignment

Madikeri Fort
Madikeri, Karnataka
Madikeri Fort
Coordinates12.4208474°N 75.7389661°E / 12.4208474; 75.7389661
Site information
Controlled byGovernment of Karnataka
Site history
Built17th century
Built byMudduraja
Madikeri Fort

Today, the Madikeri Deputy Commissioner's Office is housed in the palace bulding, while St. Mark's Church houses the Madikeri Fort Museum, managed by the Karnataka State Archaeological Department.[1] The museum has exhibits which display artifacts and weaponry from the time between the fort's construction and British rule. The museum also has a large portrait of Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa. The church was constructed in 1859 by soldiers of the East India Company, with funding from the Madras Presidency. [2] The church was administered by the Madras Diocese of the Church of England, but was closed after Indian independence, and taken over by the Government of Karnataka in 1971.[3][4]

Palace inside fort now used as DC office
  • Archeological Museum, Madikeri Fort, India
  • Stone turtle inside the palace
  • Madikeri palace-within the fort
  • View from the fort wall
  • Hero Stones
  • Masonry Elephants

References
  1. Madur (13 October 2014). "Madikeri Fort, Coorg". Karnataka. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. Penny, Frank (1922). The Church in Madras : being the History of the Ecclesiastical and Missionary Action of the East India Company in the Presidency of Madras From 1835 to 1861: Volume III. London: John Murray. p. 98. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. "Churches Vested in The Crown: Diocese of Madras". Lords Sitting of 31 May 1927. 67 (5): cc650–1. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. "Museums in Karnataka". Government of Karnataka: Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage. 2015. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
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